Dr. Robert Sapolsky (FORA, 3/2/11); Ashley Wells, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Dopamine Jackpot! Stanford University's Dr. S. on the Science of Pleasure
Stanford University Professor of Biology and Neurology Robert Sapolsky compares dopamine levels in humans and monkeys. He argues that in both species, "Dopamine is not about pleasure. It's about the anticipation of pleasure. [It's not about happiness.] It's about the pursuit of happiness." Unlike monkeys, however, humans "keep those dopamine levels up for decades and decades waiting for the reward." Even going so far as waiting for those rewards in an afterlife, trying to make St. Peter proud.
Dr. Robert Sapolsky is also a research associate at the National Museums of Kenya and the author of several works of nonfiction, including A Primate's Memoir, The Trouble with Testosterone, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, and Monkeyluv: And Other Essays on Our Lives as Animals.
I want us to make love, Duck. - I'll kill you, motherf'er! - Don't talk that way, Donald.
Sex is obscene, but (violent) war is holy
We censor even cartoon boobs to protect kids.
What's America's longest running and most successful TV show? The beloved Simpsons. But isn't one of the funniest parts, at least in the early years, the psychotically ultra-violent Itchy and Scratchy. It's so shockingly accurate as a depiction of the violent pablum we are fed in summer blockbuster movies and the endless stream of childish cartoons and kid-friendly programming we consume.
Altering consciousness? No, kids, no!
Mars (Ares) forbid we watch anything about sex or mature loving! Our parents and the ladies at the PTA, the censors at Al Gore's wife's PMRC, and all the do-gooders in the country. We want sex, we want to learn about sex, and it would be really good if the adults stopped molesting us and being hypocrites who themselves were molested but can never talk about it. This is a sexual misconduct obsessed society.
And the only time we ever came close to normal was the fabled Sixties, which mostly took place in the Seventies, but was undermined and it caused us to remember all the participants as "dirty hippies" and debauchery. It was a time of true love and mind expanding entheogens.
The clandestine agencies went in with the Fifties' mentality made it "dirty," "shameful," and "disgusting." But everyone looks back fondly on that brief time of peace, love, and happiness.
What's this killing material, Wily E Coyote?
Again as in pre-Sixties America, it's all toy guns for kids, real guns for everybody else, and shoot at will if you feel the slightest bit threatened, except don't you dare even dream of pointing your pistol (or empty hand) at an authority, who is authorized and eager to shoot you dead with impunity. That means with no consequences other than the possible guilt and certain bad karma of harming and killing.
"I met some Los Angeles people once. I hated them." The Grumpy Guide to Life (Chronicle Books). See Grumpy Cat live, Monday, Aug. 4, 2014, 6:00 pm, at Kitson, Santa Monica Place, Ste. 120 and Aug. 5, 2014, 6:00 pm in Las Vegas, Nevada (shopkitson.com)
L.A. with its own Himalayan foothills (Nat'l Forest) just behind the megalopolis (buzzfeed)
Sightings of big cats in our "Central" (Griffith) Park have been confirmed near the Hollywood sign. They are peaceful but not safe for children or crouchers. (Burma Charwoodland/Firstfire53/flickr).
Where does anyone think the traffic comes from? It’s people, commuting from one place to another. It has already been pointed out that due to the lack of a center, people move from where they live to where they work or play. It is a great expanse to cover, and most of it is covered in concrete and asphalt, which facilitates travel. It is actually just much more evenly distributed in terms of density than east coast cities.
A dozen Southern California fires rage destroying Pendleton military base. Arson, sabotage, Pentagon incompetence, Santa Ana winds? Mother Nature avoiding violence? (scpr.org)
Post-Native Los Angeles, Old Mexico
What L.A. really is is BIG. It’s massive. It's not a metropolis but a megalopolis. It is widely spread out, spilling into neighboring cities and counties...
And there are A LOT of people there, too, distributed in hundreds of communities, living in any number of configurations, speaking hundreds of languages (the L.A. Almanac says 224). More
Traveling up Beachwood Canyon to the old Hollywood sign, circa 1932 (weirdca.com)
Hollywood sign with 8-ft. long nocturnal predator lurking in the dark (Maya Sugarman)
On ridge above the lights of Los Angeles, a male cougar labeled P-22 made his way from the Santa Monica Mountains to Hollywood's Griffith Park -- an island of habitat surrounded by homes and freeways (Steve Winter/National Geographic/scpr.org)
Preliminary
DNA evidence shows that P-32, one of three cubs recently born in the
Santa Monica Mountains of the City of Los Angeles, is inbred (National Park Service/SCPR.org)
Not fit for cat food -- massive LA fish die off over the weekend. Rat poison runoff? (LAT)
Know why L.A. has so much smog? So the God can't see what we're doing down here.
Scavenging on the water-rich planet even after the loss of much of its atmosphere (NASA)
It's not that cute; have you seen my routine?
A Mars rock that bears a [strik]ing resemblance to a
rodent is scuttling across the Internet with gusto, even inspiring some
fans to set up a Twitter account in its name.
UFO buffs spotted the purported [Rocky the Squirrel or dismissively named] "Mars rat" in a panoramic photo snapped in September 2012 by NASA's Curiosity rover. Zooming in on a portion of the image reveals what appears to be a rodent crouching between two rocks, its nose to the ground.
"It's a cute rodent on Mars. Note its lighter-color upper and lower
eyelids, its nose and cheek areas, its ear, its front leg and stomach,"
Scott Waring wrote at UFO Sightings Daily back in December.
"Looks similar to a squirrel camouflaged in the stones and sand by its colors."
In an update to that post, Waring raised the possibility that NASA flew the rat/squirrel to Mars secretly, as part of an experiment [to terraform] testing out the Red Planet's ability to support life as we know it.
"Why would they not tell us about it?" Waring wrote. "Because the
squirrel would be expected to die eventually and that would get PETA
[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] to fight against them in a
court of law." More
Interacting with ETs
(ADGUKNEWS, 4-26-13) Australian TV airs interview with nuclear physicist Charles Hall, who has worked with extraterrestrials at U.S. military bases.
But at least it offers something satirical to challenge the implicit messages of shows like XBC's "Handsome Prince Moneybags and the Wh*res" and OBS's "Bleach Blondie and the White Knight Stallions" and most MTV shows.
It is to boobtube programming what Comedy Central roasts are to inflated egos. It helps us see the foolishness of our conditioning. It helps us become conscious of the unconscious silliness of ideals that rule our lives, usurp our dreams, and lead us to dejection. After all, what unseen motives are impelling us on the great hamster wheel we are assured is an unavoidable rat race?
Speaking of hamster wheels and rat races, Las Vegas, the land of deserted dreams, finally gave us our new queen, Miss. America! We also crowned our best spelling child prodigy this weekend. (Is it just a coincidence that it was another white Hispanic and Indian American? Probably). It seems like only 12 months since the last ones. One has to wonder if the Maoist Buddhists of Nepal would tolerate this. Probably considering their new sex symbol. Beauty is very alluring and therefore possesses a great deal of power.
Snigdha Nandipati, 14, tackles the final word of the Scripps Spelling Bee (csmonitor.com).
I'm really hot, from Rhode Island, and play the cello. Olivia Culpo is Miss America.
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Stanford University Professor of Biology and Neurology Robert Sapolsky compares dopamine levels in humans and monkeys. He argues that in both species, "Dopamine is not about pleasure. It's about the anticipation of pleasure. [It's not about happiness.] It's about the pursuit of happiness." Unlike monkeys, however, humans "keep those dopamine levels up for decades and decades waiting for the reward." Even going so far as waiting for those rewards in an afterlife, trying to make St. Peter proud.
